Closer
by fullmetalscully
Summary: Roy get a girlfriend who doesn't seem to like Riza very much. He's oblivious and Riza is baffled as to why she hates her.
1. Chapter 1

**AN: "****Roy has a girlfriend and she and Riza dont get along very well, she gets jealous of how close Roy and Riza are and tells him to choose between them. Roy doesnt even need to think to answer." - Anon**

**i love this prompt so much and this has genuinely spiralled out of control lmao but i'm here for it and just letting the words roll**

**fic title: "closer" by travis**

* * *

A knock sounded at the office door and Riza Hawkeye knew instantly who it would be. Glancing at the clock confirmed her suspicions, and she would have groaned if she wasn't in such a professional environment. Plus, the Colonel was in earshot and she wouldn't humiliate herself like that.

"Come in," he called, not looking up from his paperwork. Apparently, he had no idea who it could be. Riza didn't know why. Their visitor was persistent and clingy. She arrived around this time every day, greeting him so they could both walk home together.

Riza was no stranger to jealousy, however the last time she'd experienced it was when she was merely a child. She'd been jealous of Roy because he'd gotten her father's attention while she'd been left by the wayside, forgotten about once more. In hindsight, she was glad she'd been left to her own devices. Her father was insufferable, holding her to an impossibly high standard which made the fallout even worse when she inevitably fell short. Being unable to perform alchemy – _his _alchemy – was the last straw. After all the pressure, the tears, and the yelling, he gave up on her completely. A year later, the apprentices began to roll in, none lasting longer than a few days.

But Roy… He'd managed, somehow. Riza never asked because she didn't want to taint their conversations with the mentions of her father. Roy Mustang had lit up her dark childhood with a spark of friendship and she was loath to ruin it with her father's darkness.

So yes, she'd been jealous once before. It wasn't hard to see why.

But this… They were co-workers. Sure, they'd spent most of their formative years together. He'd become her closest friend, her confidant in her time of need, and a great pillar of support for Riza.

Eventually, he'd become her lover.

But that all ended after Ishval. The reasons were mutual, but on nights when she felt loneliest, she would long for his touch, his deep voice whispering in her ear, his lips on her.

Then there was the Promised Day. As was their way they didn't discuss it and buried those feelings down – well Riza did anyway. There was something there inside her though that _needed_ to be brought out into the open and aired out, but she had no idea how to. Seeing him now, it made her think it was a heat of the moment thing, nothing more. There was no meaning behind it, but Riza _knew_ him. She knew he was burying it just like she was.

It made things… difficult. Especially now.

So, it was natural to feel disheartened when his attention was being diverted away, she told herself, especially after they'd been together for so long.

And as Eve Nesbit walked through the door with her usual too sweet smile, Riza couldn't help but feel that little niggle of jealousy in the pit of her stomach.

Only because Eve got to be with Roy in the way Riza so desperately wanted to but couldn't.

Damn her and her absurd emotions. If she could glare at herself for being ridiculous then she would. It was immature and none of her business. He was her boss, for goodness sake. Nothing more. She was happy that he'd met someone. She _was_.

Riza didn't miss the glare Eve shot her way though, when she realised the office was empty. The rest of the team had left for the day, Havoc being the last one to go who left ten minutes ago. Apparently, Eve was jealous that they worked and spent so much time together.

Riza genuinely couldn't understand women like that.

She'd had her fair share of it. The glares and whispers she gotten from other women as she walked one step behind the Colonel.

"Why does he want to spend so much time with _her_?"

"What does he even see in her?"

"Maybe they don't just work together, if you get what I mean," followed by a catty laugh.

_Jesus Christ, women, just let me live_, Riza would often think to herself with a roll of her eyes.

She'd heard it all. If anything, her skin was bulletproof. Of course, he was oblivious. He was the shining star who played up his part. Riza didn't blame him. It had all been part of their plan to keep up appearances while they infiltrated the military from within, but even now after the Promised Day, it still happened. He still had a part to play to get to the top, after all. His work on the Promised Day put him in great standing, but that was one milestone down. They still had a handful left to go.

"Roy," Eve crooned in greeting, hurrying up to his desk. Riza almost frowned at the inappropriateness of it all. A civilian shouldn't even be in the building anyway. However, knowing the Colonel, he'd probably charmed someone into getting his own way.

_Or Eve had snappily asked to speak to some young officer's superior for not letting her in right away._

Yeah, that was more likely.

"Hey, Eve," he perked up, shooting her a quick grin. He rose from his chair and Riza had to force herself not to gag at the very obvious way Eve grabbed him by the collar of his shirt, kissing him more passionately than was necessary. They'd only been dating a few weeks. Even Roy was caught off guard, one hand flailing to the side at the unexpected attention. The woman was clearly in the honeymoon period already.

Eve was a petite woman. Even in her massive and expensive brand heels, she only just met Roy's height. Her hair was cut short in a bob, catching the light perfectly. Every time she moved every hair fell back into place effortlessly. Her makeup was expertly done, not a line or an eyelash out of place. Her smart, black, suit jacket and skirt screamed wealth, the fabric shining in the fluorescent lights of the office. In fact, her whole demeanour and attitude exuded that fact that she thought she was better than everyone in the room.

Riza wondered just _how_ the Colonel was so blind to it all. It was truly baffling.

_Men_, her brain reminded her.

"Let's go, honey," she urged, tugging his hand to pull him out from behind his desk. "We have dinner reservations in an hour."

"I would love to," he began, glancing back to his desk. "But I've got all this work to do still and –"

Resigning herself, Riza stood and cleared her throat, trying to get their attention. Hesitantly, she stepped around her desk and approached them both. Eve narrowed her eyes at Riza. The blonde knew she hated her. It was clear in her dismissive attitude of Riza and the sharp looks, but Riza didn't bite. She just smiled at the woman and let her live in her petty little world. _Kill them with kindness_, was what Riza had drilled into herself at a young age. It wasn't worth her time to rise to Eve's childish challenge.

"Go, sir. I'll take over here."

"No, I couldn't –"

"She _just_ said you could, Roy," Eve retorted, not giving him a chance to dismiss Riza's offer. Clearly, Eve was desperate to get him out of the room and away from her. Riza felt amusement bubble in her chest. "So, let's go!"

"Really?" he asked, speaking to her lowly. He sounded doubtful. Riza knew him. He felt bad about leaving her to do it all. It was clear in his concerned eyes. She ignored how it made her feel inside.

Riza nodded and smiled at them both. "Of course. Enjoy your night. I've got some things to catch up on anyway and –"

"Oh, _perfect_," Eve cried, grabbing Roy's arm and attempting to drag him out of the room there and then. He resisted, smiling at Eve, but his gaze turned back to Riza's.

"Are you sure?"

_Yeah, go and enjoy your night. I'll stay an extra hour and a half doing extra work – unpaid – so you can get your kicks._

Shaking those petulant thoughts, Riza nodded, plastering a convincing smile on her face. "I'm sure, sir."

"Let's go then, Roy!" Eve squealed excitedly. "There is this lovely romantic restaurant on The Avenue that I've been _dying_ to try. It's _very_ fancy, so we need to go home and get you changed. Or," she giggled. "We could go home and get distracted if you'd prefer?"

Riza's stomach tightened at the heavy implication that they would be going home for sex. Not only due to her personal feelings, but it was just plain inappropriate. Roy seemed to think so too, because he frowned slightly, but he didn't stop her from continuing her rambling that was no doubt a ploy to try and work up Riza.

Eve clearly suspected something was going on between the two of them – the woman tried every minute they were together to put across the message "He's Mine" – but it couldn't have been further from the truth. The had a history, sure, but who didn't? Even the boys had begun to notice her behaviour, and it irritated them as well. At least Riza had them on her side. It made her feel somewhat pleased that she wasn't entirely alone in this Eve shit show of trying to get a reaction out of her.

"Have you ever been to _La Taverna_, Riza?" Eve asked. If a five-foot two woman could look down her nose at the taller Riza Hawkeye, then that was what she was trying to do right now. Riza smiled pleasantly at her, having none of it. Riza had worked underneath a homunculus, for goodness sake. There wasn't much that could shake her nowadays, especially not this woman's attempt to try and tear her down.

"No, I haven't."

"Hm. Shame," she replied, tone implying that it wasn't a shame at all.

_Wow. Just… Wow_.

"Let's go, Roy! We need to go and get changed if we're going somewhere that fancy," she urged, that wicked grin on her face, eyes moving to try and catch Riza's eye.

"All right, I'm coming," he replied, hastily grabbing his jacket and car keys from his desk. "See you tomorrow, Hawkeye."

"Yeah, see you," Eve stated. Well, at least she gave her own farewell. It was the most insincere thing in the world, but it was a farewell, nonetheless. Usually she just ignored Riza completely.

As Eve all but dragged the Colonel out the door, Riza sighed quietly and turned to approach the Colonel's desk.

"Hawkeye?" she heard him call. She almost jumped in fright, not expecting him to still be in the room. A panicked thought raced through her head as she hoped he hadn't heard her sigh. The last thing she wanted was to disrupt things, not just for him, but for her as well. She was managing Eve. It was easy, in truth, but she didn't want to let on just much Riza just didn't like her. Not because she was with Roy, but because of her attitude.

She was even rude to the boys.

Turning, she saw him leaning backwards, a hand gripping the edge of the doorframe to keep his balance as his eyes met hers. Her stomach fluttered as she took in the sight of him. That lopsided smile, the excitement dancing in his eyes, and his dishevelled hair was causing it to do acrobats inside her. It was grossly unfair.

_Only because that smile and that excitement isn't directed at you_.

_Oh my god, shut __**up**__ brain_.

"You're the best," he added gratefully.

"It's not a problem, sir."

"Come _on_, Roy," Eve giggled and Riza's gaze moved to the hand that had materialised by his collar, gripping it tightly to urge him away from the door and into the night they had planned.

"I'll make it up to you, I promise!" he called as Eve eventually pried him away from the door and Riza. "I owe you one!"

They left her alone in the office with only their laughter to echo back to her.

Riza's shoulders slumped in defeat as she resigned herself to her fate. Story of her life, at work, alone, to pick up the pieces while everyone left to enjoy their evening and a social life.

With one final sigh, she picked up the stack of papers, lugging them over to her desk. From the weight, this would take so much longer than just an hour and a half. What had the Colonel been _doing_ all afternoon to become this behind?

Her answer came in the form of a case file. Interest piquing, and forgetting about her current pathetic situation, Riza picked it up, opening the file and skimming through it. It was for a robbery. It had ended in a shootout that incriminated one of the military's own soldiers and it had fallen across the Colonel's desk today as a request to hear his thoughts on the case. On the paper next to it, there were doodles and scribbled notes covering it, linking the evidence in the case and notes together.

He'd been working on this, that's why he was so behind.

Leaving the rest of the paperwork, Riza took the file over to her own desk. She could have sat in the Colonel's chair, but that would have been some kind of self-torture that she wasn't desperate enough to turn to yet. She didn't need to feel so pathetic while his scent shrouded her entire being. No, she didn't need that tonight.

Absentmindedly, she flicked through the file, adding her own notes to his, trying to make sense of everything. She should help, she told herself. There was information on the bullets and firearms used which he'd put a large question mark next to. In a circle, were the words "_ask Hawkeye_" and it had been underlined twice – a reminder to himself to get her input on something that most considered her speciality.

It made her stomach flutter again, a slow smile spreading across her face.

_Goddammit_.

An hour later – Riza could see why the Colonel had neglected his paperwork. This case was drawing her in, and she didn't feel like stopping anytime soon – a knock at the door broke her concentration. Looking up with a frown, she was confused as to who would be calling at the office at this hour. The clock ticked on the wall, indicating it was half past six. She should have finished an hour ago, but there was something about this case that kept her here. Not to mention the fact that she still had all that paperwork to do as well –

"General Grumman, sir," she greeted, jumping to a sharp salute.

Grumman grinned widely at her, stepping into the office fully rather than just having his head poking through the door. "Lieutenant Hawkeye. You're a late one tonight."

"Just catching up on the day, sir."

"Mustang procrastinating again?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Not at all, sir. He was distracted by the case you passed over his desk this afternoon and I offered to organise it for him while he looked it over. Unfortunately, I was distracted by other tasks and couldn't complete it in time."

Old habits of boosting his image in the face of the upper echelon died hard.

Grumman just stared at her for a moment, before breaking out into a laugh. "The way you defend and cover for him. It's admirable."

Riza felt herself blush slightly.

"I asked him to look it over with you in mind due to the confusion over the kind of firearms and bullets used, but naturally I expected it would take all his focus. I just wanted to pop my head in to see how far he'd gotten with it."

"Quite far, sir. I hope you don't mind, but I added my own notes to it."

"Not at all, Lieutenant. That's why it sent it over here in the first place."

"I've managed to pick out the exact firearm that would use that specific bullet. It's not military issue, so it would exonerate Warrant Officer Turner. He did nothing wrong. His gun may have been fired, but it wasn't his bullet that killed the shop owner. Another sweep on the scene may reveal the actual bullet that was fired." She offered Grumman her notes and he scanned it eagerly while Riza stood and waited for his response.

"This is… Brilliant. Simply brilliant, Lieutenant," he commented after reading, meeting her gaze with wonder in his eyes. "But how do you know Turner is innocent?"

"The bullet used is made to look and test like military bullets, but they're not. I saw a lot of them out east," Riza launched into her explanation as Grumman perched on the end of her desk, his full attention on her. "I noticed their differences early on in Ishval." She supressed the memory of removing it from a dying man's body and being asked by her CO to examine it and determine if the Ishvalans were using their own weaponry against them. "Someone was manufacturing them as a tactic to instil fear into the Amestrian soldiers. What would do it better than thinking the Ishvalans had their hands on our weapon and ammunition stash?"

"Very true," he murmured, gaze dropping to her notes once more. "So, this same person, or group, has moved onto robberies?"

"Possibly, sir, but I don't think that's the case. I hypothesise that these thieves got their hands on this tech from out east and are brining it back into play to cause chaos once more."

"Terrorism?"

Riza nodded. "I think so, sir. Make the military think that its own soldiers are turning against the state. Not to mention, ruin lives and relationships in the process."

"Very good, Hawkeye. Excellent work," he complimented in awe, an impressed smile spreading across his face. Riza shifted uncomfortably under his gaze, unused to someone complimenting her work. The boys did, and so did the Colonel, but this was different.

She couldn't remember the last time a family member had praised her so much either.

"I would like your help further on this case, if you're willing?" Grumman proposed, standing from the edge of the desk.

"I would be happy to help, sir."

"Excellent," he grinned. "Report to my office tomorrow morning at 0800 hours. I'll pass on the message that you've been temporarily assigned under my command for the foreseeable future to Mustang tomorrow, seeing as he left you to pick up his slack," he winked as he turned to take his leave. "Let the poor boy suffer for his self-centredness, shall we?"

"I don't –" Riza began, cringing. She didn't want to cause a scene.

Grumman chuckled. "Not to worry, my dear. I'll make sure it's passed on. Leave that leftover work and go home. Mustang can do it tomorrow. It serves him right for leaving you to do it alone."

"He didn't –"

"Plus, you've done more than make up for him not completing it in time. However," he added, a mischievous twinkle in his eye. "I know Mustang well enough and I know you, Lieutenant. I _know_ he was a lazy bum and didn't finish his work on time, didn't he? And you volunteered your free time to stay late and finish it, didn't you?"

Riza said nothing, but the uncomfortable look on her face probably gave her away. Grumman just laughed.

"I won't tell, Riza, my dear. Now go home and get some rest. I look forward to finally getting stuck in with this case tomorrow," he grinned, leaving the office with a wave.

The silence wrapped round her as she processed what had just happened.

_Okay. New assignment._ A thrill went through her stomach in anticipation of tomorrow. Not only would she get out of the office while the Colonel suffered with his paperwork, a small part of her was pleased she probably wouldn't see Eve again for a few days. A blessing that she needed right now.

She just wanted some peace.

Glancing over to the Colonel's desk, she eyed the paperwork that was still untouched. Making her decision with confidence, Riza grabbed her purse and packed up her belongings from her desk, leaving it tidy and presentable as she wouldn't be using it for a few days. Like Grumman implied, it served the Colonel right for being so lazy all day and leaving tasks to the last minute, only for it to be pushed aside when something more interesting caught his eye.

Riza tried hard not to tie that analogy to herself and Eve. Tried. But the heart is a fickle thing.

Maybe this was just what she needed. A break from him.

As she left the office, she walked with a purpose in her step.


	2. Chapter 2

**AN: ****chapter 2 is here laaaads i've literally spent all day on and off writing this lmao i can't get this out of my head**

**chapter 3 will probably be either sunday or monday (sorry [insert angel emoji for after you've read the chapter]) bc i have to work this weekend rip me**

* * *

"Where have you been all morning?" Riza heard a familiar voice ask in the cafeteria. Looking up from her lunch, she saw Colonel Mustang standing before her with a smile on his face, but it seemed uncertain. Concerned. Strained.

_I'm surprised you noticed_.

As she'd walked by the office on the way back from the bathroom, she'd heard Eve's shrill voice floating out from inside, even piercing her ears painfully from outside the thick oak doors. But she supposed she may be a little biased.

"Working a case for Grumman, sir," she stated casually, returning her attention to her food.

"May I?" he asked, motioning to the seat in front of her with his tray. Riza nodded. He could sit where he liked. Subtly, she cast a look behind him to see if his lady friend was skulking around to see if they were up to any shenanigans.

As if they would be.

"Of course, sir."

And Eve was nowhere to be seen. After yesterday, Riza didn't think she could deal with the woman today. Once home she felt foolish for all her childish thoughts regarding Eve and her relationship with the Colonel, feeling slightly embarrassed at herself. They were both adults and they weren't together. Apparently whatever Riza thought had developed between them had fizzled out and died during the months of not talking about what had happened on the Promised Day.

"I was worried when you didn't show up this morning," he chuckled lightly, but there was an air of nervousness to it. Again, Riza was surprised he'd noticed –

_No, stop it. This is what made you feel foolish yesterday. You're a grown woman. Act like it._

"My apologies, sir. General Grumman advised me the message would be passed on immediately in the morning." She frowned. She thought he'd been joking when he said he'd let the Colonel suffer for a bit due to his self-centredness. Apparently not.

"General Grumman approached you himself?" he asked, surprised, to which Riza nodded. "Ah, well, there was a note saying you'd be out of office today. The explanation only came when the General sauntered in two and a half hours later with a smug look on his face."

Riza rolled her eyes. He _had_ been serious, despite denying it.

"I do apologise, sir, it was not my intention to cause anyone to worry."

The Colonel waved away her apology. "It's not your fault. Anyway, when did you speak to Grumman about a case?" Now he was curious.

"Last night, sir, after you left. He came to see if you'd made any progress with the Turner case and, I hope you don't mind, but I made a few notes of my own. I was able to determine the type of bullet and the firearm it came from."

Mustang blinked at her, impressed. "Wow. That's great work. I had meant to ask you about it but, well," he smiled sheepishly. "I got distracted."

"Yes, you did," she confirmed before she could think about what she was saying. "Anyway," she hurried on, ignoring the sharp look he gave her, lest he figure out her true feelings towards his and Eve's relationship. "Grumman was impressed and offered me to work the case with him," she shrugged.

He broke out into a huge grin that met his eyes, making them sparkle. _Don't blush. Don't blush. Don't blush –_ "That's brilliant, Hawkeye," he congratulated, voice and face softening as he continued to gaze at her. "I'm proud of you. I always knew you could do great things in this job."

"Ah, thank you, sir." She accepted his praise with a bashful look, eyes turning back to her food before he could see her cheeks turning pink.

"I hope I don't lose you for too long," he added, smiling cheekily at her. "We've still got to prep for our move out to Ishval."

"Of course not, sir. I'll return as soon as the case is over."

"If… If you want," the Colonel stated hesitantly after a pause. "You can stay and work with Grumman for a while longer, if you wish. You could do great things –"

"I can do great things in Ishval too," she cut him off, seeing where the direction of this conversation was going. It all made sense now. The praise that he knew she could do great things and the offer to remain with Grumman for a while longer were both moves to try and keep her away from the place where her life had turned to hell. Also, Mustang had confessed to her in the past that he felt he was holding her back, that she could do so much more to help people like she'd always wanted to. Staying and working for Grumman would give her that chance.

But he went through that hell too and Riza saw how much it affected him. She wouldn't let him go it alone. They'd been in this together from the beginning and that wasn't about to change.

"I know, but –"

"Sir," her eyes flashed in irritation. "We both have a steak in this project. Bigger than anyone else," she reminded him. "I won't run away from what I've done. I deserve to be back there as much as you do. I thought you of all people would understand that. Where you go, I go –"

"Roy!" she heard a shrill voice cry. That was the last straw for Riza. As he turned involuntarily at the call of his name Riza sighed involuntarily, stood, and retrieved her tray from the table. The woman, who Riza was pretty sure would surgically attach herself to Mustang's hip if she could, was hurrying over to them, shooting an almost accusatory glare their way. Roy's head swung back around at the sound of her exhale, concern on his face.

"_There_ you are," Eve huffed breathlessly, placing a hand on his cheek, turning his head by force, and giving him a chaste kiss. Again, she caught him completely off guard. "I've been looking all over for you!" She draped herself over his shoulders, shooting Riza a glare as Roy removed his attention from his girlfriend. Did she dare imagine it, or did she see irritation on Roy's face for a moment there? Riza's only reaction was the tiniest tightening of her eyes. They didn't narrow but it was enough to show Eve just what she thought of her blatant showing off.

_How did she even get in here anyway?_ Riza thought to herself, still baffled that this woman managed to worm her way into military headquarters so easily. _Perhaps Daddy knows people who can get her access to everything_.

Riza had to hand it to the woman. Her homing instincts were on point. She seemed to know where Mustang was at all times. Which, in a way, Riza thought, was very creepy.

"Good day, Colonel, Eve. I hope you enjoy the rest of your lunch."

"Wait, Hawkeye," he called after her, and, of course, she had to stop and turn around at his command. He tried to stand only to be retrained lightly by Eve's touch.

_How could he not see what was happening here?! Why was he so blind?!_

"When will you be back in the office?"

"I don't know," she shrugged carelessly. "Enjoy your day, sir," she dismissed, walking away.

Right now, she didn't want to be anywhere near that place. Not if Eve was going to be there, shooting her death glares over nothing. Then no work would get done because Riza would be too distracted wondering how the woman was picturing to kill Riza in the most painful of ways.

Briefly, Riza wondered how they were coping without her, but, for once in her life Riza felt like being petty. She wanted Mustang to suffer, in a way. Nothing extreme, but it was nice to work in an office where she didn't need to chase her CO up to complete his work every minute of every day.

Riza placed her half-eaten lunch in the disposal, depositing the tray on the rack. Her appetite had disappeared for now.

* * *

"See anything Lieutenant?" Grumman asked, his voice carrying through the jewellery store that had been robbed a few days ago. This was the site where Turner had apparently shot one of his comrades, but thanks to her analysis of the bullet, all suspicion had been removed from him and he was a free man once more.

The manufacturers were good. _Too_ good. Their bullets were almost a carbon copy of military ones, giving those analysing them extremely good reason to believe that soldiers were turning on each other. However, if one knew what to look for – the absence of a small, barely-there, groove on the inside of the casing – then one could determine that Turner did in fact not shoot his comrade.

"Not yet –" Stopping herself as something caught her eye in the sunlight, Riza approached it, crouching down to peer closely at the ground.

There was the stray bullet. And Riza would bet that it was the one from Turner's gun.

"Over here, sir," she called, putting on her gloves and picking up the bullet. Grumman crouched by her side, examining the bullet himself. "There's our bullet."

A hand clapped her on the shoulder as she placed it into an evidence bag. "Excellent work, Lieutenant. Returning here was a good call. Well done."

"Thank you, sir."

"Okay people, let's pack it up and –"

He was cut off as a gunshot sounded, cracking through the afternoon air. Instinctively Riza ducked, pulling Grumman down to lay prone on the floor with her.

It wasn't from a pistol though. It was from a sniper.

"Sir, are you –?" she began to ask, only to stop when she saw him face down on the floor, unmoving, a red patch beginning to blossom through the back of his military jacket. "No," she whispered in horror. She scrambled over to him, seeing the hole the bullet had made and pulling away the jacket to see an even bigger spray of blood on his back. The wound was just above his right shoulder. _Okay, so not near the heart_. That was one good thing. She pressed one hand on his exit wound, putting pressure on it while she checked his pulse with the other. It was there, but it was weak.

"Shit!"

"Riza!" she heard Catalina call out. Her head snapped up to her friend, getting ready to shout for help, but something impacted her shoulder, sending her spinning over in place and landing painfully on her back. She gasped in pain, groaning brokenly as she tried to suck air into her lungs as pain enveloped her entire being. "Riza!" Rebecca screamed again, but this time it sounded closer.

Another shot rang out, followed by a second, but between Rebecca's "oh my gods" and shouts for help, she told Riza the shooters had been immobilised.

"Stay with me, Riza," Rebecca begged, her hands covering Riza's wound on her shoulder. "Stay with me. You can't leave me, not here. I've got you. Just hold on! I've got you!"

Riza tried. She really did. But… Her brain reasoned that if she closed her eyes the pain would disappear, and she would get some peace.

That's what she'd wanted all week, wasn't it?

Riza whimpered in pain and a tear ran down her cheek, but not for her physical pain. Her brain could only think of one thing as she saw her world greying and sound began to distort in her ears.

She hadn't told Roy how she'd felt, and they hadn't discussed the topic of Them. She just wanted him to know that she held nothing against him. There should be no guilt on his end for not wanting to pursue anything further between them, or for anything he'd "put her through" over the years. She'd made her own choices and faced the consequences of them.

Riza Hawkeye had many regrets in life. One that was creeping higher up her list these days was not telling Roy Mustang, her oldest and closest friend, that she was in love with him.

Rebecca screamed her name one last time as Riza's eyes drifted closed, one last tear escaping from underneath her lids.

* * *

Roy rushed through his last piece of paperwork for the day. There was a sense of achievement in completing everything before the end of the working day, even with his paperwork. It never held his interest, so he postponed it in favour of something more exciting, however it still needed to be done.

He had no idea how Riza managed to juggle her own work _and_ keep them all on track. Roy had struggled all day to manage everything coming through his office. It was very clear that Hawkeye was the glue that held them all together, both in the field and in the office.

By lunch time he had a tension headache that made him want to lay his head on his desk and sleep.

But, by the end of the day, he was proud of himself for what he's achieved. This was a rare event.

Too bad Hawkeye wasn't here to see it.

And if she was gone any longer, he would have to do the same amount of chasing his own tail tomorrow and that thought made him nauseous. Clearly, they couldn't cope without her.

He felt bad leaving Riza last night, but she insisted, and Eve didn't give him much of a choice. The feel of her hands roaming over his body distracted him long enough and broke down his reservations so that he just went along with it. It wasn't until they were lying in bed that he felt bad about the whole thing. Eve was asleep but Roy was left lying wide awake with his guilt. He should have stayed and helped her. It was _his _work after all, not hers, and she'd selflessly given up her free time to complete it for him because he'd been slacking.

He was such a bad person.

Slipping his arm out from underneath Eve's body he crept quietly into his living room towards the phone. Sitting on the chair, receiver in his hand, he stared at it, contemplating whether or not to phone Hawkeye and ask her how she got on with it. A part of him had hoped she'd have just left it for him in the morning. It served him right if she did.

But knowing his Lieutenant, that was a long shot.

Just as he was about to dial the number, he double checked the time on the clock on his mantle. It was past midnight. Apparently, the night had run away from him because Roy didn't realise it was that late.

He couldn't call her this late. Not only would he have left her to pick up _his_ slack, he would probably either be waking her up or keeping her from sleep.

_Just go back to bed and wallow in being a bad person_.

With a sigh he stood and defeatedly walked back through to his bedroom, vowing that in the morning he would make it up to Hawkeye.

Starting with breakfast.

Eve insisted on walking to work with him. Of course, she had to spend over an hour getting ready for the day, so Roy spent the majority of that time waiting impatiently on an armchair in his living room. The ankle that was resting on top of the other leg's knee bounced agitatedly as he waited.

He should be at work by now making up for the lost time from yesterday.

"Are you going to be long, Eve?" he called through, tossing down the alchemy magazine he'd been forced to turn to as he tried to reign in his irritation.

"No, baby," she called back sweetly. Roy grunted and pushed himself up from his chair, trying in vain to burn off his extra energy.

"Well, I need to get to work. I need to leave now. If –"

There was a quiet clatter and she rushed into the room looking flawless as always, appearing breathless as she smirked at him. "Ready!"

"Let's go." She was obviously expecting a kiss as a greeting, but Roy was too annoyed after being forced to wait for her to get ready.

Things… were not going as he'd hoped. When he'd met Eve, it had been fun, and she'd been lovely but she was just far too clingy for his liking. Every minute of every day she wanted to spend time with him. Roy liked her, he did, and they had their fun, but he was already getting irritated and that wasn't a good sign.

His job was busy and had long hours which she didn't appreciate, that's why she came around to the office so often. He'd asked the front desk to let her up the first time – and _only_ for that one time – but he hadn't expected her to take it as an invitation to come to his office _every day_. How she got passed the front desk, Roy wasn't sure he wanted to know, but he was already contemplating having a word with them.

What he needed was someone who understood that he was a busy man. He was about to be promoted – Grumman had confirmed that he would be promoted to Brigadier General before they were shipped out to Ishval to begin the reconstruction.

When he did travel out to begin the rebuilding project, in all honesty, he didn't want Eve there with him. She insisted it was fine and that she would go there with him but it was one hundred per cent too soon for that anyway. Plus, she wouldn't do well in the desert. More importantly, that was a place where he'd been at his lowest. It held no god memories for him, and he would be there to do a job and try and redeem himself for his actions in the war. Eve wouldn't understand that. She would just complain that it was too hot and that there was sand in her perfectly polished heels. She was absolutely the kind of woman who would wear heels in the desert.

Roy didn't need to hear her complain about such trivial things when he was trying to work on a project that was so near and dear to him, that he felt his whole adult life had been leading up to. She wouldn't understand.

The only person who would was Hawkeye.

And he'd glossed over her yesterday and left her to do his work for him while he went out and enjoyed himself.

_Terrible person_.

And now, thanks to Eve, they would be late to the office because like hell was Mustang _not_ getting Hawkeye her favourite pastry from the bakery on Sixth Street and a coffee to go with it. He did owe her big time after all, no matter how much Eve complained that they were going to be late.

_You made us late in the first place._

They strolled into the office to find Hawkeye missing from the room, but the rest of the team was there. He placed Hawkeye's treats on her desk, ready for her to come in. It was odd that she wasn't here yet. Riza was _never_ late. Was she okay?

"There's a note on the desk for you boss," Breda informed him. "It appears Hawkeye won't be joining us today."

His stomach tightened and he approached his own desk with haste, snatching up the note and reading it under his breath.

_Mustang,_

_Lieutenant Hawkeye will be out of office today._

_General Grumman_

_What_? Hawkeye wouldn't be here? But why? How? Was she okay? Did she need any help?

If Grumman had passed on the message, then it could easily be deducted that she was working under his command today. But even after everything that had happened between them, after almost losing her on the Promised Day, his mind turned to the worst. His pulse quickened and he felt dread coil in his stomach.

A horrifying thought crossed his mind that she'd finally gotten sick of him and moved onto somewhere where she could do bigger and better things. Of course, that's what he wanted for her. She could do so much more yet chose to remain by his side. He just held her back. He should be happy for her, she _should_ progress and become a better soldier, but there was a small part of him that was terrified that she would no longer want to be by his side.

He didn't want that at all.

"Oh, well, it appears we didn't have to stop at the bakery after all," Eve replied flippantly, examining her nails and appearing quite satisfied that the Lieutenant wasn't in the room. The heads of his team snapped up, each narrowing their eyes at her back.

Roy frowned too. Deeply. He didn't like her attitude towards the Lieutenant. He'd noticed something was off with Eve yesterday when they were speaking with Hawkeye, but he chalked it up to his imagination. Then she'd been all over him at dinner. Not that Roy minded, but there was a niggle in the back of his mind that something was up. The way she'd acted, the way she'd spoken… It was like she was trying to stake her claim on him.

But that wasn't necessary, right? That couldn't be what it was. He and Hawkeye were old friends. There was history there, sure, one he cherished with all his heart, but there was nothing between them. He'd thought there would be something after what had happened on the Promised Day, but they'd been kept busy with rebuilding Central. Long days and short bouts of sleep left no chance to discuss anything. He wanted to, desperately, but he chickened out. Riza Hawkeye was the dearest person to him in the world and he didn't want to mess anything up with her.

So, he said nothing. As was their way.

Eve grasped his face in her hands without warning, kissing him intensely, running her tongue over his bottom lip in farewell.

But Roy felt nothing this time. Indignation burned inside him at her actions. She had no right to kiss him in this way. He hadn't been prepared at all and ever since this morning he hadn't wanted to at all.

"See you later," she smirked, twirling on the spot and almost sashaying out the room.

Roy felt his irritation spike. It was definitely like she was trying to stake her claim on him. And the way she'd spoken about Hawkeye, Roy didn't like it one bit.

Perhaps it was time to put an end to it.

"Are you ever going to get a room with her or…?" Havoc muttered under his breath after Eve left the room.

"What, Havoc?" Roy asked, frowning at his Second Lieutenant.

"Nothing, sir," he replied casually, implying it wasn't nothing at all.

"If you have something to say, Havoc, please. The floor is all yours."

With a sigh, Havoc shook his head and bent over his work.

Roy huffed in response, striding over to Hawkeye's desk. He stared at it, unsure about where to begin. It was neat, as expected from his Lieutenant.

It was tidied and empty like it wouldn't be used for some time.

Roy swallowed hard, feeling something settle painfully in his stomach.

He wanted to know where Hawkeye was, and he wanted to know now. Something wasn't right –

"Sir, this new batch of forms came in for you this morning," Fuery piped up, carrying a stack of paper in his hands. "And I noticed there are still the files from yesterday that need worked on."

Roy's head snapped to his desk, seeing that indeed, Hawkeye hadn't completed his work for him. In a way, he was relieved. She hadn't worked herself late into the night to pick up his slack. He'd already vowed that never again would he let that happen.

But what had happened last night, then? She offered to stay then he discovered that the work she said she'd do for him was left, almost untouched. His stomach tightened.

"Of course. Right. Thanks, Fuery."

"No problem, sir," he saluted, returning to his own desk to begin his work for the day. The rest of them had their heads down and worked diligently, the complete opposite to how their morning usually began.

They would banter back and forth for about half an hour or so while Hawkeye tried half-heartedly to get them on back on track, all the while hiding her own smile and dropping in a deadpanned comment here and there. It set them up nicely for the day, putting them in good spirits.

Today, all that could be heard was the scribble of pens.

It was unnerving.

Roy had been feeling that way all morning until Grumman sauntered in and explained the situation. The knot in his stomach eased, but Roy was still uncertain. He would be until he saw Hawkeye for himself.

She'd appeared irritated by Eve's sudden appearance in the cafeteria, and in all honesty, Roy had been annoyed too. He wanted to have a private conversation with his Lieutenant and this woman had somehow wormed her way between them once more, putting a stop to any kind of talk he desperately wanted to have.

Three times of popping up unnecessarily during the workday and Roy had made his decision. It was time to end with Eve. She appeared on cue in the office bang on four thirty, trying to get him to leave early for the day.

"The Lieutenant can just do what's left over for you, can't she?" she scoffed. "That's her job, after all."

Havoc and Breda simultaneously threw down their pens, having been silent during their whole exchange, and stood in place, faces angry and determined to defend Hawkeye. Even Fuery glared at her, looking up from his tinkering. They would have to get in line behind Roy. His eyes flashed angrily, and his irritation flared. This was too far.

Before he could open his mouth to retort, the door to his office snapped open and Catalina burst through, hair wild as if she'd sprinted all the way here. She was breathless, her face frantic and worried.

"Mustang?" she cried, swallowing hard. "We have a situation."

"What kind?" he asked, stepping around Eve and moving towards her. Havoc shot out from his chair, grasping her elbow lightly to keep her upright. It was only then Roy realise that she was shaking. Havoc eased her into Hawkeye's chair – the one closest to where she'd been standing.

Then he noticed the blood.

"Riza and General Grumman have been shot."


	3. Chapter 3

**AN:hey so i did NOT expect this story to take off like it did and receive this kind of response so thank you so much frmo the bottom of my heart I LOVE YOU 3**

**here is the [thrilling?] conclusion! i hope you all enjoy it! this has been a true joy to write and thank you to the anon who sent me the prompt for this on tumblr 3 you the real mvp 3**

* * *

"They… They've…"

"_Shot_?" Breda exclaimed before Roy could formulate his sentence.

No. No, they couldn't have been shot. That wouldn't happen. They were working a simple case just gathering evidence. They wouldn't get shot from doing that. That would be ridiculous. He'd just been talking to Hawkeye a few hours ago and she was fine. She hadn't been shot.

_Then why was there so much blood on Catalina's uniform?_

"What happened?" Havoc asked, staring into space. His voice was quiet and dazed. Roy watched as he swallowed, the Lieutenant's Adam's apple bobbing twice.

"Where are they?" Roy cut in. Reasoning cut through the haze that had formed over his mind after hearing that news. His brain had stuttered a few times but was now whirring as it processed Catalina's announcement at a mile a minute.

Catalina's gaze flicked to Roy's, holding it for a moment longer than he could bear. Roy opened his mouth impatiently, about to demand that she tell him right now, but she eventually answered.

"Grumman is on his way to the hospital."

"And Riza?" Roy asked desperately, sensing there was a big "but" coming.

Catalina looked uncomfortable before she answered, and Roy felt a shiver run up his spine. "Still at the site of the shooting."

"_What?_" The whole team's gaze snapped to hers.

Catalina swallowed, taking a shaky breath. "We got Grumman out. They sent him out. Riza's still in there though –"

Roy wanted to vomit but his brain hadn't caught up with the current conversation yet. He was saying words but wasn't taking much of it. He picked up certain words and that was enough to piece together what had happened.

"_Who_ sent him out?" he asked, beginning to walk towards the door.

"It's a hostage situation, Roy." Catalina's eyes were large and worried. She rung her hands in her lap, fidgeting to try and control her emotions. "They won't let her leave. I don't know who _they_ are," she added, sensing his next question. "But… It's bad. I'm so _sorry_."

"Let's go."

Before he could take another step there was a tough restraint on his hand. Roy spun, coming face to face with Eve.

"Roy," she whined, batting her eyelashes at him and pouting. "But we have dinner to go to." His gaze snapped down to her eyes, burning with such fury that Eve paused, no longer swinging their joined hands together.

"Is she for real?" Havoc asked loudly to the room.

Eve glanced around at everyone's thunderous expression, seeming to shrink in on herself.

_Good. It's what she deserves after _that_ behaviour_.

"We're done," Roy told her, voice deathly calm. He snatched his hand from hers, striding out of the room.

"Roy!" she cried, sounding like she was going to burst into tears. "Don't go!"

"Seriously, who even _is_ this bitch?" Catalina asked furiously, stopping to look back at Eve. Judging by the look on her face Catalina was ready to fight her there and then.

"Nobody," Roy stated, tearing open the door to his office with force.

"If you leave right now, I'll –!"

Roy spun on his heel, face murderous as he approached his former girlfriend. "If you think for one minute you are more important than Hawkeye being fucking _shot_, you're delusional." He was mildly surprised when her face twisted in anger.

"I _knew_ there was something going on between you two!" she accused, raising a finger and poking him hard in the chest. It just made him angrier. "You bastard!"

"There was nothing," he growled. "And I don't care for the accusation. Our friend is currently being held hostage and you have the balls to tell me not to go? That we need to go out to dinner?" He scoffed. Despite the anger on her face, the longer Roy spoke the smaller she seemed to become. He wondered to himself what he ever saw in her if she had an attitude that stunk to high heaven like this. He wondered how he hadn't seen it sooner.

_You weren't thinking with your head, Roy boy._ That was true.

"Get the fuck out my office."

"No, let's settle this right now!" she exclaimed. He didn't have _time_ for this bullshit. "Pick. Me or her. Know that if you –"

"Easy." He turned on his heel and breezed past the rest of the team, who begun to move without question, following him to go and help Hawkeye. Not before he got the satisfaction of seeing Eve's mouth drop open in pure shock.

Of course, he would pick Hawkeye. It had always been Hawkeye for him.

"This isn't over!" Eve screeched.

"Breda?" Roy barked.

"On it." He remained in the office, approaching Roy's desk phone and dialling security. Breda would remain with Eve to ensure nothing went amiss and that security escorted her from the building. While Roy hated to do it to him at a time like this, Roy also couldn't have her snooping through the office or trying to tear the place apart in a fit of rage as an act of revenge.

Dealing with Eve came second for Roy right now. Hawkeye was first.

"It's dead," Breda stated. "The line, it's dead."

"How had that happened?"

"Doesn't matter right now. Fuery, get security." They heard Eve squeak the word behind them in disbelief, but Roy ignored her. "Once it's dealt with both of you meet us there."

"Sir!"

"What happened?" he asked Catalina as he marched out the office. "Tell me on the way," he ordered.

* * *

When they arrived, the street was in chaos. Roy barked out orders to officers to connect to Fuery's communication network and allow them all to talk efficiently to one another. He set up a perimeter, stationing soldiers around the jewellery store so any chance of escape would be stopped. These people needed to pay for what they'd done here today, and Roy was set on the warpath to make sure that happened.

They had both been inside the jewellery store when the shots were fired. Roy could see the window the bullets had pierced, the evidence in the fractured glass. Catalina had run in to help after the snipers had been immobilised – there had been two. A man had entered from the back room, holding her at gunpoint and telling her to step back from them both. Both hands raised, she'd done so and been forced out the building before the enemy barricaded the doors, sealing them in.

After she'd rushed back to the General's car and called in the situation, the doors had opened and she saw Grumman's body fall out, hitting the ground with a loud _thud_.

"A parting gift!" the man had yelled, followed by laughter.

Cautiously, Catalina had approached the body to find him still alive but losing blood. A _lot_ of blood. It was pooling easily on the concrete beneath him, so she hoisted her commanding officer up and dragged him to the car. MP's had already begun to flood in, and she passed Grumman over to the paramedics, rushing him to the nearest military hospital.

Riza, however was still left inside.

Unable to do anything further – and because Mustang wasn't answering his phone in the office – Catalina drove straight to HQ after she'd gotten Grumman sent off to hospital, but as she'd left, she'd heard screams. A woman's screams.

Roy's face was set somewhere between seething and grim the whole time he listened to Catalina's tale about what had transpired.

"Fuery?" he asked into the communication device in his ear. "You there?"

"Here, sir."

"Get me through to the phone in there."

"Understood, sir."

It rang seven times before someone picked up.

"Well, well, well boys. Who do we have here?" a confident voice purred into his ear. His stomach tensed in response, ready to punch the confident smirk that was no doubt on this man's face. "Could it be the infamous Colonel Mustang here? Ready to swoop in and save his precious woman?"

Those words jolted him back into a memory. They were underneath Central. Riza bleeding out on the floor, throat slit. The gold-toothed doctor grinning over her. And Roy… Roy restrained and unable to help her. He'd begged her with his eyes, tears collecting in them as he _strained_ to be close to her in that moment, to help her, to hold her, to _save_ her.

"What do you want?" he snarled.

"Just walk on in here and we'll get this all sorted out."

"Colonel!" he heard Riza scream. "Don't –!" There was a pained yell, the silence. Roy began to move.

"Roy!" Catalina shouted, restraining him with a hand on his chest. "You can't go in."

He glared at her. "Like hell I can't! Did you not _hear_ that?"

"I did," she replied, and Roy paused for a second, noticing the tears in her eyes. "But what happens if you storm in there? They will probably kill her. We can't lose her. _You_ can't. Not like that. Not again."

Catalina was right. That's why he was ready to dive head-first into this because after almost losing Riza Hawkeye on the Promised Day, Roy vowed he would never let something like that happen again. And here they were, a few months down the line, and it had.

He couldn't go through that again. The reason for it bubbled just under his skin – an emotion that he didn't want to acknowledge because if he did, he felt like he might shatter. He definitely would if this all went to hell and Riza didn't walk out of that store.

"_Think_," she urged. "Just think about what you're going to do right now."

The voice in his ear chuckled. "That's right, Colonel," he crooned. "_Think_. Think about those flames you want to cast to consume us. But you can't use them today, can you?" he asked, appearing disappointed that this was the case. "Because if you do, you might hurt the dear Lieutenant. She's already had a taste of fire. Let's see if she wants another?"

Roy felt his world stand still as a gunshot echoed through the earpiece. Everyone seemed frozen, time slowing to a standstill as they all processed what they'd just heard. He was the first one to move though. This time Catalina didn't try to stop Roy as he surged forward. Another gunshot went off and the MPs and officers trained their weapons on the door to the store.

Havoc and Breda had their weapons out and ready to fire behind Roy and Catalina. Fuery brought up the rear, abandoning his communications post and joining them. He had his back to the store, eyes scanning rooftops in case the man inside had any more friends.

It took a few tries, but Roy and Catalina kicked the door down. Roy burst through it, vaulting over the furniture used to block it easily. His head whipped back and forth frantically, hand raised and poised to snap. Oh, he would barbeque those men if they'd done anything to Riza.

He rushed around a display case, stopping short when he spotted Riza.

She was alive.

His breath caught in his throat and tears sprang to his eyes.

Her face was swollen on one side. The eye barely visible. A cut ran over her cheekbone, the skin bruised and a clear sign she'd been struck multiple times on the face. Riza was leaning heavily on her elbow, one arm resting across her midsection. The latter arm was drenched in blood, the fabric around her wrist dripping with it. However, he noticed the material on the shoulder of her bad arm had been torn away. That's where Catalina said she'd been shot.

And where a gunshot wound should be, there was a large scar. The skin was blistered and red. It was a burn.

"_She's already had a taste of fire_."

Before Roy's world could turn completely red, he watched her sag back against the wall behind her, head hitting it painfully.

"Riza," he breathed, skidding to a halt on his knees beside him. _Anger later. Riza first. _"I've got you. You're okay." He pulled her body against his, arms wrapping around her sore arm gently while the other snaked underneath and held her midsection. It was an awkward hug, but Roy needed it.

Again, he was transported roughly back to the Promised Day. Roy shuddered.

It had happened to her again and he'd been powerless to stop it.

Riza had shot the two men. The gun in her good hand was still smoking when he'd entered. But what would've happened if it had been the opposite? She'd have been left to be murdered by these two men, alone.

There was a reason they let Grumman go, Roy theorised. They didn't need him. For whatever reason, these men were specifically targeting Riza either just for her, or to get to him. The latter made bile rise in his throat. Too often had she been used like that. And he'd let it happen again.

"Colonel," she managed to get out, her frame shuddering as he held her.

"Are there any others?" Riza shook her head but then whined in pain during the action, her head stilling as her face contorted. "It's all right," he soothed, kissing the top of her head as if it was the most natural thing in the world. "Sorry, don't move." He lifted his head and peered over the display cases, removing the hand from her injured shoulder to press it gently against the side of her head, clutching her even closer to him. The paramedics were running their way, directed by Catalina. Havoc and Breda were already removing the injured and groaning men. Fuery entered through the back room to scope it out and check it was safe. But even though there was all that action, all Roy could hear was Riza's laboured breathing. Nothing penetrated their little bubble.

"It was… It wa…"

Her body went limp in his hands.

"Riza?" he asked quietly, unable to comprehend what he was seeing. "Riza!"

The paramedics shoved him out the way as they loaded her onto a stretcher. They were out the building and away in the ambulance in record time – before Roy could even rush in after her.

"I'll drive," Havoc stated and the whole team squeezed into the one car. Car safety rules be damned today.

The wait at the hospital was agonising. Over and over again in his head Roy thought about what could have happened, what he could have done differently to prevent this from happening in the first place.

_Maybe you should have worked on the case together like you planned all along and not let yourself get distracted. Her downfall is on you leaving her to pick up your slack._

His inner voice was always right.

Another thing that was bothering him was _how_ had this even happened anyway? They were visiting the site of the case to give it another once over. Now that Riza was on the case it would make sense for her to visit so she could get a feel for what had happened. How had those men known she'd be there? That Grumman would be there? And _who the fuck_ were they?

These thoughts gnawed at him, eating him alive as they all waited in silence. He just wanted to know she was okay. If he knew that he could function and discover what the hell had happened today.

The overwhelming feeling that he'd ran out of time washed over him and Roy lowered his head to his hands, letting out a shaky breath as he tried to calm himself down.

_Don't waste another minute with her_, he'd told himself after the Promised Day.

_Crying won't help Riza. You've got to be strong. For her_.

"Riza Hawkeye?" a doctor called quietly into the room of waiting soldiers. Each's head snapped up and the woman appeared taken aback by the sudden movement.

"Yes?" Catalina asked, desperate for an answer. They all were.

"Riza Hawkeye is out of surgery," she announced. "She's stable at the minute but not out of the woods yet."

* * *

Roy closed the door of Riza's hospital room quietly behind him. His heart ached to see her hooked up to every machine like this. Wires were draped over her torso as they monitored her vital signs. An IV went into one part of her arm while another went into another vein, this time with blood. A tube was connected to her nose to give her oxygen.

Sitting heavily on the chair by her bedside, Roy grasped her hand tightly and squeezed. He bowed his head, lifting her hand to his forehead and he held it there as he took in a shaky breath.

"Oh, Riza," he whispered. When he lifted his head, his heart constricted painfully all over again, taking in the sight of his strong Lieutenant and bodyguard looking frail and ill in a hospital bed.

_You vowed that after the Promised Day you wouldn't waste another minute with Riza Hawkeye. Where was that vow in the last few weeks? When Grumman __**specifically**__ asked you to involve her in the case, and you got so caught up in it yourself then abandoned her to do it alone? With another woman, no less?_

_Bastard._

Shame washed over his entire being and Roy heaved a breath, feeling like a complete and utter failure. If only he hadn't _left_ the other night. He didn't even have the energy to think about Eve right now. She was so far off his radar after today that she meant nothing. All those weeks wasted with the woman who suggested going out to dinner after finding out his oldest and dearest friend had been shot and was being held hostage.

She always did have an uncanny ability to interrupt any moment he tried to share with the Lieutenant –

No. Today she was Riza. They were so far beyond superior and subordinate right now. Especially with the way he was feeling.

_Don't think about it! You'll only make it worse for yourself._

But that's what he deserved after how he'd been treating Riza recently.

He loved this woman lying before him, but he _despised_ how it took her getting shot for him to realise it. Roy supposed he always had. No, he _knew_ he always had. But putting a name to it made it real and while under the scrutiny of the homunculi he couldn't put Riza in danger like that. Eve was a distraction, if anything, to subconsciously tell himself that everything was all right and as it should be between them.

_But you did put her in danger today, asshole, because you abandoned her_.

He couldn't look at the bandages on her injured shoulder just yet. _Burn scars_. It made him too angry. She'd already been tainted so much by fire thanks to him, and now it had happened again. The bastards had cauterised the wound to keep her awake and alive for longer, so Riza could play along in their little hostage charade. He was glad she'd shot them.

"I'm so sorry," he whispered, the tears finally falling. His entire frame shuddered as he cried, continuing to press their joined hands against his forehead. "You can't leave me," he begged. "Not like this. We still have so much left to do. I…" He trailed off, trying to compose himself. "I have so much to tell you. I… I love you, Riza Hawkeye. With my entire being. So please…" His voice cracked. "Please wake up."

There was no answer from Riza. Just the steady beeping of the heart monitor beside her bed.

Roy bowed his head once more, letting all the emotions pour out of him the in the dim hospital room. In his grief, he didn't notice a figure by the window of Riza's door, peering in and watching his suffering.

* * *

"Riza Hawkeye," Roy told the nurse when she asked what the patient's name was. "She's just recently been moved from the ICU." They'd just gotten the call two hours ago that she'd woken up for the first time and was being moved to a ward and out of intensive care.

She was getting better.

Catalina had come right here while Roy was in meetings regarding Ishval with Havoc and Breda, that's why he was late.

"Oh yes, of course. She'd in Ward 4, Room 20. Oh, she'll be glad to have some more visitors," she announced brightly. "Her sister arrived about half an hour ago."

Havoc and Roy shared a look.

Riza didn't have a sister.

Roy took off like a shot down the corridor, eyes frantically scanning the sign on the wall for Ward 4. It was on the third floor. They were on the ground.

"Call security to that room," Havoc ordered the nurse. She seemed baffled, flummoxed at such a command. "Do it now!" He caught up with Roy just as he begun to move towards the stairs. They both took two at a time, bursting through the door of the ward, much to the surprise and outrage of the patients and nurses, respectively.

"Sir! You can't run like that in here –"

"Get security to Room 20!" Havoc called back to her over his shoulder.

When they entered the room, Roy felt his world slip out from underneath him.

Riza was there lying in bed. Her face was peaceful, the pillows around her rumpled like they'd been moved just recently but not put back to make her comfortable. But what drew his attention away was the loud solid tone from the heart rate monitor beside her bed.

"No," Roy muttered shaking his head.

Nurses pushed past him, shoving both Roy and Havoc out of the door as they chattered, barking orders at one another. The door slammed in his face and Roy blinked at it, that beep still managing to escape through the cracks, grinding painfully right into his very soul.

No, this couldn't be. That sound was wrong, right? That wasn't what was supposed to happen. She was on the mend. She'd been moved out of the ICU. She was getting better.

"Clear!" a nurse shouted and the sound pierced Roy's ears painfully. There was the sound of the pads jolting a body, the bed squeaking as a body moved on it.

_Riza's body._

The tone continued.

Roy backed away, shaking his head vigorously, muttering the word "no" under his breath repeatedly. When he hit the wall behind him, he paused, ears straining for that steady beep to return that meant her heart was beating.

Nothing. Just one tone.

Roy slid down the wall in time with the tears tracking down his cheeks. He didn't notice Havoc running down the hallway at a sprint away from him. He didn't notice Catalina running past him to follow Havoc. He didn't hear Breda calling his name, didn't feel the gentle shake of his shoulder.

Just that one, single tone.

The door opened, letting that tone free and filling the hallway, Roy's mind, his entire soul.

_She can't be gone_.

"Fuery!" he heard Havoc call distantly. "Get down here!"

He couldn't bring himself to care that Havoc was shouting.

"Breda!" Havoc called.

The shadow to Roy's left passed over his body, Breda taking off at a run towards his comrades.

Roy didn't care what was happening.

All he could care about was the woman he loved, the person who'd owned his heart for years – he'd just been too dumb to realise it and too scared to admit it when he did – was gone from this earth, leaving him behind.

The door before him burst open, a pair of bare feet hurrying towards him, but stumbling on the way. Two hands gripped his face, wrenching his head up to meet their gaze. Whisky coloured orbs stared back at him earnestly, their mouth moving as they called to him, but no sound penetrated the fog of losing the woman he loved.

_He hadn't even gotten the chance to tell her_.

"Roy!" a familiar voice shouted – but it was faint. The hands on his face continued to reposition as they desperately tried to get him to listen. Sound began to return to him as he began to recognise that voice and those eyes streaming with tears.

"Roy," Riza Hawkeye begged before him, sobbing. "Come back to me," she whispered, pressing their forehead together.

"Riza…" he whispered. Then he realised. This wasn't a ghost. He could feel her hands on his face, the thumbs stroking his cheekbones, the fingertips in his hair.

She was… alive? But…

Roy surged upwards, wrapping his arms around Riza's body, squeezing her tightly. He buried his face in her neck, inhaling her scent as he felt her body shaking with her tears. His own wet her skin too. His body felt ten tonnes lighter as he held Riza Hawkeye, the woman who'd come back from the dead.

That was twice now.

"No!" a woman shrieked down the corridor. Roy pulled away and turned his head, confused, and saw Eve trying to escape Havoc's hold. She thrashed but she was no match for the towering Havoc. He just watched her struggle, wincing as she clawed at his bare arms with her catlike nails. "Get away from him!"

Roy shifted, shielding Riza from view, which was slightly more difficult as her arms were still looped around his neck and Riza didn't want to let go of him.

A doctor walked up behind Eve, pricking her neck with a needle. Before long, she went limp. "Just a sedative," he explained, sweat forming on his brow after witnessing that exchange.

But Roy didn't care about Eve. He spun in place, feeling like he was coming face to face with a ghost.

"You're… okay?" he asked in disbelief, gaze roving over her body to make sure she was still real.

"I'm all right, I promise," she whispered, gripping his face again. "I'm alive. I'm _so_ sorry for that, but I'm alive –"

Roy silenced her by crushing his lips against hers.

* * *

"I overheard the men talking," Riza explained, voice still quiet and weak. "Eve had organised a group of hitmen to take me out." Her gaze flicked to Roy's to see him staring at the floor, gaze hard and his entire body unmoving. The anger rolled off him so easily that everyone in the room had picked up on it. Riza thought that if anyone were to touch him, he would shatter into a million little pieces. That's how tightly he was wound right now.

Riza was part of the reason for that, and she felt guilty because of it. But it had to be convincing for her plan to work and there was no way of knowing how compromised he was after spending time with Eve. If she'd planned the group to take her out – which, coincidentally, included her brother who seemed very on board with making the Flame Alchemist suffer after some incident years ago back in the East – then she may have set up a bug of some kind to keep tabs on Roy. It wasn't an insane thought. She _did_ always have the uncanny ability to find out _exactly_ where he was at any time of the day.

As Riza lay feigning unconsciousness after waking up from the men cauterising her bullet wound, she listened to them talking, discovering Eve's whole plan. Eve had finally had enough of her that she'd sent the hitmen to take her out. She'd somehow found out she'd moved to work for Grumman and taken it from there.

Riza was still baffled that the woman was willing to take it this far. One thing Riza knew for sure was that this woman was a psychopath. Straight up. That was already obvious to Riza in the way Eve had treated her whenever she saw her, but this was taking it to a _whole_ other level.

Riza had feigned sleep when Eve had entered her hospital room. She'd anticipated an event like this. If her men couldn't do the job – not to mention the fact Riza had shot her brother – then she would do it herself.

"It was supposed to be _me_," she'd growled at Riza in her hospital room, ripping a pillow out from underneath her head. _Suffocation. How creative_. It took every ounce of her self-control, not to mention supressing _years_ of military training, to remain still in that bed while Eve muttered to herself about who Roy was supposed to love.

Obviously, she was jealous of Riza's relationship with him. But… there _was_ no relationship. That was the kicker. Eve just didn't believe Riza when she told her. Eve was adamant there was. They cared about each other, sure. They shared a strong bond because they'd literally been through hell together multiple times. But there was no romantic relationship.

_No matter how much you want there to be_.

As if he loved her.

She was his teacher's daughter, the shy girl who barely spoke a word to him growing up unless he managed to coax it out of her.

But that kiss… The way he'd held her… The look on his face when he realised that she was still alive.

Did she dare to believe…?

"Want a job done," Eve had muttered under her breath. "You've got to do it yourself."

Under the bedsheet Riza pulled at the chord of the electrode stuck to her chest, leaving the machine to let out a loud tone that could be heard down the corridor. Eve had panicked, shoved the pillow back under her head and bolted.

She thought Eve had returned when Roy and Havoc burst in. She had her eyes closed before she saw her next visitor, assuming it was either Eve or the nurses, but was shaken to her core when she heard Roy's heart-breaking denial that this was happening.

A tear rolled down her cheek as the door slammed shut. They continued when she was helped out of bed by a nurse. She hugged her body as they pretended to use the defibrillator to bring her back to life.

When she couldn't bear it anymore, she burst out the room. Seeing Roy broken on the floor, tears streaming down his face, and looking positively _devastated_, Riza's breath caught in her throat.

"You… _faked_ your own death," he choked out. Riza's eyes found his again.

"It was my idea, sir," Catalina interjected, raising her hand. "I knew there was something wrong with that woman." She gestured towards Roy with her head. "She fucking told you to go to dinner after finding out Riza had been shot and was being held hostage." Riza watched as Roy's eyes flashed at the memory. Riza almost laughed. Why did that not surprise her, coming from Eve?

"Riza told me what she'd overheard in the store this morning. I knew it was Eve that initiated it all. So, we took a chance and it worked. I really am sorry that we kept you out of it, but we had no idea if you'd been compromised by Eve by a bug of some kind. Seeing how far she was willing to go it wasn't hard to hypothesise that bugs were a possibility."

Roy sighed, rubbing his face tiredly with his hands. Riza felt her stomach flip as she watched him. She hadn't wanted to make him suffer like that, but it had happened now, and their plan had worked. Eve was now in custody beside the two men who had kept Riza and Grumman hostage.

"Leave her to stew there a few days," Havoc scoffed, showing no remorse for the woman.

Roy nodded. "I'll need to until I feel calm enough to talk to her."

A few hours later the team said their goodbyes and left for the night. Roy, however, remained in place, staring at the floor.

"I'm sorry for doing that to you," Riza whispered, breaking the loud silence that had settled over them both. "I am _so_ sorry. I didn't know it was you. I thought it was her," she added, looking down at her clasped hands. Every time her fingers moved there was a twinge of pain in her shoulder, but not enough to bother her. When she'd thrown her arms around her commanding officer – her cheeks turned pink at the memory with a tinge of embarrassment at her misconduct thrown in there too – _that_ had set her injured shoulder on fire, but it was worth it. It was what she'd needed.

Roy scrubbed his face, spine straightening in his chair. He moved from sitting opposite the bed to the chair by her bedside, Riza watching him carefully as he did so. Surprised, Riza saw him grasp her hand tightly.

"I thought I lost you today," he murmured, examining their hands entwined together. Riza wold never admit it, but it looked and felt _right_. "Twice. That was a lot for me to go through." Riza nodded in sympathy. She remembered when she thought she'd lost him to Lust underneath Laboratory Five. "But it did help me realise a few things."

"Oh?" Riza inquired when he didn't elaborate.

"I love you, Riza Hawkeye. Have for years." Her jaw went slack as she stared at the obsidian eyes burning into her soul. "After the Promised Day I vowed I would _never_ waste another second with you, but because of my own insecurities I did. I was too scared to bring up what had happened that day because I didn't want to upset you and I didn't want to ruin what we already had." Riza gave his hand a quick squeeze in comfort. "So," he began, taking a deep breath. "Here's to no more wasted time?" he asked uncertainly. There was worry in his eyes, thinking she might turn him down.

As if.

"I love you too Roy. Here's to no more wasted time." Riza raised their joined hands like it was a toast, tears clouding her vision. They fell once Roy kissed her softly, solidifying their agreement.


End file.
